Leon Draisaitl considers Oilers’ season a failure

I don’t know about you, but I haven’t forgotten what Giannis (Milwaukee Bucks) said after his team was eliminated.

Basically, his club lost in the first round (even though Milwaukee finished first) and he said, when asked about it, that his team’s season wasn’t a failure. Why not? Because he was building for the future.

I understand what he means, but when you lose like that, it’s a failure.

And above all, I don’t think he had the right to say that Michael Jordan, one of the greatest winners in history, didn’t fail when he didn’t win the NBA title in a given year. Did he really watch The Last Dance?

Anyway. All that to say, seeing a star clear his name like that hurt my competitive heart. The Bucks’ loss wasn’t the end of the world, but it was still a setback.

I don’t understand how anyone could think otherwise.

So you can understand why I was pleased to see that the Edmonton Oilers don’t take defeat lying down. People there seem to think that the club’s season was a failure.

After all, last year, the Oilers reached the Western Conference Final. But this year? They didn’t.

As a result, the club hasn’t come as far as it did the year before, which is a failure. It’s not the biggest failure in sports history, but it’s still a failure.

And Edmonton recognizes this. Leon Draisaitl is aware that what has just happened is a failure. We can also sense that he’s hurting, and that he wasn’t looking forward to the World Championships.

And it’s not like the Oilers are the heavy favorites like the Bucks. Nor is it as if the Oilers lost to celery stalks since Vegas has a big club.

After all, we could also talk about Vincent Desharnais, who isn’t exactly happy with the end result. In Edmonton, we realize it’s time tostart winning sooner rather than later.

No one said the season wasn’t a failure, then. In Canada, even if we don’t win the Cup, we understand its importance.

Let’s agree that the Oilers had what it takes, on paper, to go all the way. After all, the two best players in the world (or two of the best, at least) play there.

But they are poorly surrounded. Evander Kane, for example, didn’t play like he did last year… and I think that made the difference.

P.K. Subban believes the club needs to commit to winning – and he’s right. The small details weren’t done (like playing defensively, for example) by the Alberta outfit, who put their season in the hands of the referees.

Let’s just say it’s not the strategy of the century.

And so, for the fourth time in six years, the Golden Knights advance to the Western Final. The NHL’s 31st-ranked club could well face the NHL’s 32nd-ranked club if the Kraken get the better of the Stars tonight.

And if Dallas goes through… it’ll be hot to cover the NHL’s final four.

In a gust

– Nothing less.

With the @GoldenKnights #StanleyCup Playoff series win, Bruce Cassidy has become the third Head Coach in team history to advance to the Western Conference Final in their first season coaching Vegas 🤯 pic.twitter.com/mbDRU6sIdL

– NHL Coaches’ Association (@NHLCoachesAssoc) May 15, 2023

– Which guys will be the biggest free agents this summer?[HF]

– It’s going to be a good series.

– To be continued.

– Boston’s been on a roll for a few years now.